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| - Food: 3/5
Drinks: 3/5
Service: 3.5/5
Ambiance: 4/5
Overall experience: 3.5/5
(1- Terrible; 3- decent; 5- Fantastic)
National is a fairly new beer hall that opened up next to The Ship and Anchor on 17th Ave. It is always packed on the weekend so I was glad my friends and I found a couple of seats along their oyster bar. As the concept of 'beer hall' suggests, National has long communal (picnic-like) tables for customers, or you can grab a seat at their beautiful bar where display boards rotate through their beers on tap. It's very spacious inside and they have an equally large open patio.
National has over 36 bottles and 70 different draught beers including Pale & Dark Ales, Lagers, and Hoppy ones. I was a little disappointed by the selection because they were all North American microbrews and a pint was considerably expensive compared to other places: $6/14 oz; $8.50/20oz; $14/Stein; $15/Flight. A bottle can run up to $15 for 650ml to $30 for those with a higher alcohol content.
My friends and I opted to share a 1L 'Strawberry Lemonade' cocktail ($15) with vodka, strawberry, and homemade lemonade. If you love girly drinks, this is the one to get because it was refreshing and deliciously lemony.
Their menu is reminiscent of a gastropub with gourmet items including oysters; ($3) in-house made salty snacks like spiced nuts and pickled eggs; ($9-$14) appetizers like mussels, beef tartare, and pretzels; ($18) pot pies; ($10-$16) duck and lobster poutines; ($15) prime rib and porchetta sandwiches; ($13) hamburgers, and unique desserts like a deep fried mars bar! They even serve a whole roasted pig for parties if you order ahead.
My friends and I tried their 'Traditional Poutine' ($10) which was very disappointing. The fries were soggy, the chicken gravy was bland, and there wasn't enough cheese curds. However, the 'Key Lime Cheesecake' ($8) with honey comb and raspberry sorbet made up for it. The cheesecake had the right amount of tartness, a nice thin graham cracker crust, and a buttery texture. In general, their food is presented beautifully with care on rustic wooden cutting boards.
I also had the advantage of sitting next to the oyster bar and kitchen so I saw a lot of the snacks being prepared and food come out. I suggest avoiding the salty snacks portion of the menu since they give you a very small portion and there wasn't anything unique about them. For anyone who is interested, the popcorn is you usual popcorn from a machine and you only get two pickled eggs (four halves) per order.
My overall experience at National was just OK. It didn't really live up to the hype and I would have preferred to see a wider range of import drafts. Nonetheless, if you haven't checked out National yet, I suggest you drop by on a slower night. The atmosphere is lively and the staff are friendly.
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